Posted on December 10, 2014

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We’re proud to announce that there are now more than 300 million Instagrammers. Over the past four years, what began as two friends with a dream has grown into a global community that shares more than 70 million photos and videos each day. Instagram is home to creativity in all of its forms, a place where you can find everything from images of the Nile River to the newest look from Herschel Supply or a peek inside the mind of Taylor Swift.

We’re thrilled to watch this community thrive and witness the amazing connections people make over shared passions and journeys.

As Instagram gets bigger, we’re focused on helping you discover photos and videos from people who you care about, whether it’s a friend or your favorite musician. Last month, we launched a People tab on the Explore page, which highlights interesting accounts to follow, and we also launched improvements to search. Yet people ask, ‘When it comes to public figures and brands, how do I know that the people I discover on Instagram are really who they say they are? How do I know that this person really is Tony Hawk?’

Today, we’re excited to announce verified badges for celebrities, athletes and brands, making it easier for you to connect with the authentic accounts you’re looking for. These badges will start rolling out over the coming days.

Finally, as more people join, keeping Instagram authentic is critical—it’s a place where real people share real moments. We’re committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web, and that’s why we’re finishing up some important work that began earlier this year.

We’ve been deactivating spammy accounts from Instagram on an ongoing basis to improve your experience. As part of this effort, we will be deleting these accounts forever, so they will no longer be included in follower counts. This means that some of you will see a change in your follower count.

Most of you won’t see any impact. If you’re one of those who will see a correction, you will receive a notification in the app directing you to additional information.

Thank you for your passion, creativity and support over these past four years. We can’t wait to see what you do next.